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Of all the delectable delights that come through the shop these days, there is one consistent shop favorite– a sweet little food cart named ‘Stretch the Noodle’. They are a mom & pop food cart that, luckily for us, opened just around the corner from our shop a few months after opening in our new location. It would not be exaggerating to say that we eat here almost everyday.

What initially caught our attention about Stretch the Noodle was that they hand-pull noodles to order, and they are delicious. These noodles are chewy and perfect, and you can order them in either a steamy bowl of soup (the La Mian) or in a dish of Chao Mian, with either chicken or tofu. They also make a Chinese pancake, the Jian Bing, which is made like a crepe with a lots of egg and scallions– Jeff P. calls it “the perfect food.”

Pictured here are Stretch the Noodle’s lovely owners, in the process of hand-pulling noodles for someone’s lunch:

After deciding to write a blog about our favorite food cart, we ordered the whole menu one day so that we could share how fantastic everything on the menu looks with all of you. Enjoy!

An AWR feast:

Let’s start with the La Mian. This is a Sichuan beef bone soup, and is great comfort food– we’ve been ordering it a lot lately since it’s gotten so cold here in Portland. It’s got those awesome chewy noodles in it, along with beef and bok choy. Yummmm.

Next is the Chao Mian, which comes with plenty of veggies to balance out all those delicious noodles. This can easily be turned into your lunch and dinner, so word to the wise: don’t over-order, they are generous with their portions!

And here is Jeff P.’s favorite, the Jian Bing! It can be made with or without bacon, and is crunchy and perfect either way.

Last but not least…the dumplings. It cannot be overstated how good these dumplings are. They’re offered as a special on their menu and will be either pork dumplings or, my favorite, the pork and shrimp combo. They’re worth a trip to Portland in themselves.

Oh, Stretch the Noodle, we love you.

In tattoo news, here’s a little sneak peek at some tigers I’ve been working on lately.

Hey everyone. Sorry that it’s been a while. I’ll be taking over here permanently and have set myself the goal of posting more frequently- be sure to keep your eyes peeled! Also, keep an eye out for never-before-seen photos of new projects I’m working on that I will be regularly posting here exclusively.

So, what can I tell you about? On a business level, the new shop has really come together, and I would like to thank everyone that has contributed to rebuilding and making this space feel like home. In other news, we’ve added two new artists to our crew, Jessica McDermott and Cecelia Wingate, and they have been a welcome addition to the team. We will be updating everyone’s portfolios on the website this holiday season, so stay tuned.

On a personal level, me and my family are doing well. Baby Bernie is proving to be a most excellent eater (Japanese fishcake, spicy Szechuan eggplant, and all sorts of other exotic foods) with a healthy appetite, and has shown great potential for being a real sweetheart.

Now that summer’s over I’ve got some new pieces that I’m starting and I’ve also got some sneak peeks of finished projects for you.

The tattoo shop has been lucky enough to get visits from a few special shop babies this month.

Our first baby to visit the new shop was Bernadette. Daddy Jason Kundell claims that what baby Bernie lacks in sleep, she makes up for in charm. Bernie is tough as nails and only cries when someone insults her fashion sense. By bedtime each night, Bernadette typically ends up with fistfuls of hair from some of her favorite people. It’s tough to say “no” to such a cute baby.

The next baby to visit the shop was baby Ross. He patiently ate fruit snacks while getting tattooed. Ross only cried when he thought the tattoo was complete, only to find out that Jason had simply transferred the stencil. Ross went home to take a nap, but not before Jason rocked him and sang a sweet lullaby.

Our last baby to visit the shop was little Josiah. He made sure everyone noticed his new “big boy pants” as soon as he arrived. Little Josiah seemed pretty tough at first, but as soon as Jason bumped the table and spilled the baby’s sippy cup, he threw a tantrum.

Not all babies are made equally cute or good-tempered, but they all have value at AWR

Josiah here. It has been a while since I did a post and to be honest it has not been easy. After the shop blew up last fall I have found it to be very difficult to get back into a new routine.

The generosity and support people showed us over these last months has been incredible. It will take a very long time for us to express the gratitude felt towards everyone who helped us and i will apologize now for the delay.

That being said I’d like to take the time to both thank and plug our friends Garrett and Jenni along with the entire staff at the UnTattoo Parlor here in Portland. I have had nearly 1/2 of my body suit lightened or removed over the last 5 years and have gone to just about every facility in the Portland area. The results and experiences have been from bad to mediocre and nothing has been worth mentioning to say the least.

All of that changed a few years ago when Garret and Jenni came by the old shop to introduce themselves and to let us know about the new tattoo removal clinic they were opening. They offered to give any of us a treatment to show us how great their equipment was and from that day on my perception of tattoo removal was forever changed. The space is conveniently located at 1306 NW Hoyt St. #205 in Portland’s historic Pearl District and is easily accessible from anywhere in the metro area.

The environment in which they operate is unmatched and the friendliness, knowledge and professional demeanor immediately made me aware that they were doing something different and worth checking out. Garrett being a highly educated surgeon is definitely a game changer for the tattoo removal scene along with the fact that local anesthetic is offered makes a huge difference in the quality of outcome. He has personally trained his entire staff to ensure that the best possible results can be achieved.

Not only do they offer tattoo removal, but you can also get your past “bod mod” and stretched piercings returned to their normal states because who wants cat buttholes for earlobes?

Getting a tattoo is a big deal and can require a little work and research to make sure that the experience is great along with the quality of the outcome meeting or exceeding expectations. Having a tattoo lightened for a cover up or removed completely requires a similar process. I/we here at ArtWork Rebels can’t recommend the Untattoo Parlor enough and do so based on on own personal experiences along with those we have referred over the years. Please check them out for yourself. You won’t be disappointed. Go to www.theuntattooparlor.com or call them at (503) 893-0102

It has been an incredibly busy few months, getting the new shop up and running. We hustled in order to get the doors open by February 1st, and there remain a few small construction and painting projects to complete. I’m proud to say that the shop is off to a great start and is only going to get better.

The highlight of the past 2 months has been seeing some of our favorite clients again. So many familiar faces have stopped in to wish us well and admire our new space. We’ve already hosted a number of our favorite guest artists, as well as a few new ones.

The best part of the new shop is working with the whole crew again. It’s been nice for all of us to be back, hard at work under the same roof again.

It has been a very busy few months for me, as I have revisited many in-progress pieces and taken on exciting new projects.

Our first month in the new shop has been great. We’ve had lots of friends coming through and guesting with us, which has made the transition into the new space sweet. Our guest list has been extensive, including the talents of Jeff Croci (Seventh Son Tattoo), Shawn Barber (Memoir Tattoo), Sean Perkinson and Carolyn LeBourgeois (FTW Tattoo Parlor), Mark Galloway (Windhorse Tattoo), Chelsea Rhea (Amulet Tattoos) and J.J. Dunbar (H.B. Tattoo). These guys have graced the walls of the new shop with some great art, at the center of which is a seriously beautiful painting of the old shop by Shawn Barber– thank you again Shawn, we couldn’t love it more. Here are some images of the pieces our guests worked during their time at AWR:

Monster sleeve by Jeff Croci

Namakubi by Sean P

Radish by Carolyn LeBourgeois

Lady face by Chelsea Rhea

We’ve got plenty more talent lined up for coming months, so keep an eye out for updates.

In the meanwhile, we’ve been trying our hand at writing haikus for you guys. With that I’ll leave you with this sweet sentiment written by bossman, Jason Kundell:

Jeff Croci is our brother from another mother who works at our beloved sister shop in San Francisco, Seventh Son Tattoo. We love Jeff for a number of reasons. He is smart, sensible, an amazing cook, a kick ass bodysurfer, will roll you in jiu-jitsu, and let’s face it, he slays the tattoo game. Jeff was also the mastermind behind the Go Fund Me to rebuild Art Work Rebels, so we will just refer to him as our Godfather from here on out.

Jeff is known for making large scale biomechanical tattoos and is also clearly well equipped for making stunning Japanese, botanical, Realism, and black and grey tattoos. Jeff will be doing a guest spot at the NEW Art Work Rebels location on February 16-18! Although Jeff is fully booked, please stop by to meet this true gentleman, and check out our new digs.

Jason and co. have been working nonstop to create a warm, welcoming, aesthetically amazing shop for you. Come say hi!

It’s certainly been a crazy couple of months since our shop exploded all over NW 23rd. There’s been a lot to process: putting things in perspective, grieving material and emotional losses, letting go, being thankful for the lack of injuries, dealing with the weight of “what ifs” and what could have been, being overwhelmed by the support of our community, being away from our tattoo home and family, and finally, finding a way to move on.

It’s hard to explain the way your emotions sway from day-to-day as you go from pitying yourself, to realizing how lucky you are. It’s been amazing to get to work at different shops with so many amazing tattooers around the Portland. I never felt any less than completely welcome everywhere I found myself-Atlas, Oddball, Historic and Blacklist. And all of my clients new and old who came out and met me wherever I was to get great tattoos and help keep me making a living.

I continue to be astounded by the vision, drive, and relentlessness of Art Work Rebels owner and our big boss man Jason Kundell who has tirelessly worked to find and build us a new home starting from that unbelievable day one.

And now the new shop is approaching completion. I’m so excited to make the new place home and be there with Joe and Ross and Josiah and Gordon and Jason and Jenn and Chaise and Dylan. I got a tour of the new space-in-progress and I really think it’s going to blow people’s minds when they walk in the front door.